New and Confused

1. Where is your master volume?

2. Honestly, there is no singular method with the KPA. With other devices I've had, there were typically tricks necessary to improve the feel or tonal response which would be applied pretty much globally. As the response and tones of profiles can vary wildly, you really have to take things on a case by case basis. I mean, even the bands you mention sound wildly different from each other and used different amps. Best to look at the gear they used and look for a profile which at least matches the amp. From there, it's the challenge of matching a fully produced guitar sound (EQ and compression) which is very different then the sounds we are typically accustomed to playing alone.

Check your output levels on the output soft button.

Compression is a taste thing. I dont use it at all. Eq has so many factors that go into it, especially what you are playing the Kemper through. Heres what I suggest. Find a tone you are close to happy with and start tweaking. Also I would HIGHYLY recommend buying the JCM 800 from Amp Factory if thats the amp you like. You dont have to buy a whole bundle just buy the JCM. I personally LOVE this profile from Andy. It works out to like 8 or 9 bucks I think for that Profile.

Curious, have you tried to listen through headphones? I dont own an Alto, but that may have something to do with the boxiness. Im not at all suggesting get a new frfr. But youll need to dial out the boxiness from the alto using the Kemper monitor out eq, or place a studio eq in the X slot. On my guitars I generally find that the boxy frequency is between 400 and 500hz. To find a boxy frequency put the studio eq in slot X grab the Mid gain knob, and crank it up, tighten the Q factor pretty tight then take the Mid Freq knob and turn it until you find the boxy or honky frequency. Then take the mid gain and turn it down to -2.0 db or so. Thats just some very basic guidelines.

I find most of the pro profiles I dont have to do a ton of tweaking. Even some of the free profiles dont require alot.

Quote from chunkstyle

Thanks for the quick response!

Master volume is at about 3/4.

I'm aware that the bands I mentioned have wildly different sounds and if I had to guess I would think they were using a JCM 800 or another Marshall amp (I will look it up). Forgetting about the bands I mentioned,I'm just not sure how to go about setting up my signal chain. What effect does a compressor have on the signal? Does it belong in the front or back of the effects chain? Are there any guidlines for proper EQing without stepping on other instruments? I'm very new to having all of these options on one device. I'm not expecting answers to all of these questions cause I'm sure they are basic to you. I was just hoping for a link to a good beginner article.

Basically, you can treat the KPA as you would treat a real amp. The KPA is divided into three main sections.
1. Stomps
2. Stack
3. Post-Effects

Now, with a real amp, you have some effects, that normally go before the amp (distortions, overdrives, boosters). With some stomps, people use different approaches (delay, modulation effects) - some like them before the amp - others after the amp (FX-Loop in a real amp).
Usually, a compressor is placed before the amp, number 1 in the chain of stomps (for me). It is useful to gently "flatten" the high dynamic range of a clean guitar sound - in some cases it "smoothes" the tone a little, it can improve the sustain of a clean or slightly crunchy guitar tone (for single note playing). I have never heard of anyone who put a compressor after let's say an overdrive pedal. Some people use the gate at the end of the stomp chain - which makes sense, because if you use a distortion stomp, this might add some noise. I, however, don't use the gate most of the times. Wahs go before the amp (in the real world of amps).

For the amp section and deeper editing possibilites, I recommend having a look at the reference manual (available via support and manuals). It explains the various parameters and what they do. These are partly parameters, which are not common in the real amp world so it's probably a good idea to read about what they do. (They reflect what a real amp does, but usually, with a real amp, you cannot tweak these parameters).

For the Post-FX section - just throw in what you want.

One hint about the EQs: Sometimes, you can use to trim the tone before it enters a distortion stage, sometimes, you use it after the distortion stage. Keep in mind that you can use the EQs to boost the amp as well if you turn up the EQ's volume.

Another approach might be to have a look at some of the rigs you like and then examine the way they make use of the stomp and post-amp effects.

Something which I still find hard to do is to remember, that the KPA and some of its options are not attempting at imitating real guitar stomps. Sometimes, you have to make decisions you wouldn't make with real pedals (for example). So for example setting volumes of a pedal to a minus value, is still a bit strange to me. But always remember:

Let your ears be the judge!

Also, I feel that it's quite easy to exaggerate the effect levels - you start with a very nice amp profile and then throw in such strong effects that you can easily end up with something you didn't want to have in the first place. It's like putting too much icing on a cake. (Especially the reverb settings of some rigs are much too prominent to my liking.)

Quote from chunkstyle

Thanks for the quick response!

Master volume is at about 3/4.

I'm aware that the bands I mentioned have wildly different sounds and if I had to guess I would think they were using a JCM 800 or another Marshall amp (I will look it up). Forgetting about the bands I mentioned,I'm just not sure how to go about setting up my signal chain. What effect does a compressor have on the signal? Does it belong in the front or back of the effects chain? Are there any guidlines for proper EQing without stepping on other instruments? I'm very new to having all of these options on one device. I'm not expecting answers to all of these questions cause I'm sure they are basic to you. I was just hoping for a link to a good beginner article.

Check out the KPA output section again. Aside from the usual volume and master that you are used to with amps, the KPA also has volumes for all of your input and output connections. So there will also be a volume for the monitor or main that is going to the Alto.

Don't buy any profiles yet. Even if you know which ones you want because learning to tweak is far more valuable and should be done anyway to avoid profile GAS that comes with the KPA honeymoon.

Grab a variety of free JCM profiles from the exchange and tills cab pack here:

Update 19.07.2012: TillS Cabinets - 1960 V30/T75 / Mesa Recto 4 x 12 / mixed / G12H30 cabs

Now you can explore the different ways to tweak sounds on the KPA with different EQ's in different locations and then try out different cabs from tills so you get an idea of what sounds good with your speaker and what sounds good to your ears.

Most importantly is to take beaks and play when you hear something you like or your ears may start to play tricks on you with too much tweaking. It's like moving to a new city: getting lost on purpose and then learning your way around is more fun than trying to grasp everything at once and worry about getting lost.